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SCMP Style Reporter

In 1833, an aspiring watchmaker by the name of Antoine LeCoultre set up a small atelier high in Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux, a stunning alpine valley north of Geneva in the Jura Mountains.
Little did he know what he had unleashed. In 1900, his grandson Jacques-David LeCoultre took the baton and ran with it, creating the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand in partnership with his friend Edmond Jaeger. Nearly two centuries later, the company that they built has become one of the world’s most coveted horological powerhouses, often known as the watchmaker’s watchmaker, and beloved of royalty, celebrities and everyone with a taste for timepieces that blend classically elegant aesthetics with the most exacting levels of technical expertise.

Jaeger-LeCoultre is still based in its original spot in the Vallée de Joux, but these days its headquarters is a simple atelier no more – instead, it’s a treasure trove of horological expertise featuring more than 80 workshops, where more than 100 watchmaking crafts are practised. Linking those skills explicitly to the manufacture’s storied history, there’s also the Jaeger-LeCoultre Heritage Gallery, which provides an in-depth look at more than 500 horological objects created by the brand.
Over the years, Jaeger-LeCoultre has crafted more than 1,400 different calibres in the Vallée de Joux, and received more than 430 patents. Its numerous achievements include the creation – dating as far back as 1931 – of the Reverso, one of the world’s most instantly recognisable watches, with its ingenious reversible case. The company has also been responsible for everything from the world’s smallest movement to some of the most sophisticated grande complication watches ever made.

The same exacting standards and pursuit of technical mastery continue to characterise the precious watches that emerge from the brand’s ateliers today. The Master Hybris Inventiva Gyrotourbillon À Stratosphère, for example, unveiled at this year’s Watches and Wonders, is characterised by a remarkable triple-axis tourbillon which, despite weighing just 0.78g, offers 98 per cent coverage of all possible positions. It’s also a masterpiece of traditional decorative crafts, including guillochage, enamel and lacquer.

The thirst for innovation at Jaeger-LeCoultre clearly remains unquenched. Watches and Wonders also saw the launch of a new collection, Master Control Chronometre, with three watches: a date display, a perpetual calendar, and a power reserve and date version.

Drawing inspiration from 1973’s classic Master Mariner Chronometre, they come with an integrated metal bracelet, and show off a variety of fine finishes, including Côtes de Genève, perlage and bevelled bridges.


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The new Jaeger-LeCoultre Hybris Inventiva Gyrotourbillon À Stratosphère is yet another supreme example of the art of watchmaking from one of the most storied names in the business. Photo: Handout

Inside the Heritage Gallery, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s archives. Photo: Handout

Jaeger-LeCoultre 2026 Hybris Inventiva Gyrotourbillon À Stratosphère. Photo: Handout

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Chronometre Perpetual Calendar. Photo: Handout

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Mariner Chronometre from 1973, on which the 2026 Master Control Chronometre is based. Photo: Handout

100 years after King Tut’s discovery, ancient Egypt inspires new wave of jewellery design

Azza Fahmy The Tutankhamun necklace. Photo: Handout

David Morris Asiyah bangle and earrings. Photo: Handout

A gilded coffin at the King Tutankhamen exhibition hall of the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, Egypt, the world’s largest museum dedicated to a single civilisation. Photo: Xinhua

Lito Eye of Horus pin. Photo: Handout

Bibi van der Velden Ushabti pendant. Photo: Handout

Rachel Boston Tether earrings. Photo: Handout

Dyne Loverglyph custom rings. Photo: Handout

Lito Marta earrings. Photo: Handout

Jacquie Aiche Scarab ring. Photo: Handout

The rise of the ear cuff, the painless statement accessory

Hailey Bieber wore Ana Khouri’s Diamond Phillipa ear cuff at the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar Party in Beverly Hills. Photo: Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

The ear cuff, such as the Blast cuff by Repossi, is versatile and flexible, and shows no age discrimination. Photo: Handout

Nicole Kidman wearing the Ana Khouri Diamond Phillipa ear cuff at a Kering event in New York, in 2023. Photo: Getty Images

Otiumberg ear cuff. Photo: Handout

Bee de Chaumet ear cuff and rings. Photo: Handout

Otiumberg Stratis ear cuffs. Photo: Handout

Why colourful watches are taking over the red carpet – Timothée Chalamet and Tyler The Creator are fans

Timothée Chalamet, Tyler the Creator and Canadian businessman Kevin O’Leary show off watches with coloured straps at December’s New York premiere of Marty Supreme. Photo: Variety via Getty Images

Timothée Chalamet at the New York premiere of Marty Supreme in December 2025. Photo: handout

Chanel’s Première Ribbon Red. Photo: Handout

Urban Jürgensen UJ-1 Tourbillon. Photo: Handout

Cartier Santos. Photo: Handout

Zenith Defy Skyline. Photo: Handout

Gérald Charles’ Maestro GC Sport Tennis. Photo: Handout

Newly minted watch ambassadors – from Henry Cavill and Aaron Taylor-Johnson to Jun Ji-hyun

Henry Cavill, Zhang Ziyi, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jun Ji-hyun are now all watch ambassadors, for Longines, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega and Piaget, respectively. Photos: Handout

Zhang Ziyi, global ambassador of Jaeger-LeCoultre. Photo: Handout

Piaget global ambassador Jun Ji-hyun. Photo: Handout

Omega ambassador Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Photo: Handout

Longines ambassador Henry Cavill. Photo: Handout

Diamond-encrusted watches from Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Graff

Jaeger-LeCoultre’s diamond-encrusted 101 Secrets watch. Photo: Handout

Cartier Baignoire jewellery watch. Photo: Handout

Graff Tilda’s Bow diamond watch. Photo: Handout

Jaeger-LeCoultre 101 Secrets watch in platinum. Photo: Handout

Van Cleef & Arpels À Cheval high jewellery watch. Photo: Handout

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The 2026 Master Hybris Inventiva Gyrotourbillon À Stratosphère is a technical and decorative marvel, while the new Master Control Chronometre is based on the 1973 Master Mariner Chronometre


The 2026 Master Hybris Inventiva Gyrotourbillon À Stratosphère is a technical and decorative marvel, while the new Master Control Chronometre is based on the 1973 Master Mariner Chronometre.
